Japan places missile systems on high alert.

North Korea announced that it has completed its first military satellite and that leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for the launch. Earlier in May, he inspected a military satellite facility, according to the state news agency KCNA.

This would be the latest move by North Korea following a series of missile launches and weapons tests in recent months, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

A spokesperson for Japan's Ministry of Defense said that Japan anticipates North Korea will fire a missile carrying a satellite over the southwestern island chain of the country, as it did in 2016.

Analysts believe this new satellite is part of a surveillance technology program that includes drones, aimed at improving the ability to strike targets in wartime.

"We will take measures to destroy ballistic missiles and other missiles confirmed to have fallen on our territory," Japan's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Japan will use either the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) or the Patriot PAC-3 missile to intercept North Korean missiles.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that any missile launch by North Korea would be a serious violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

His office tweeted: "We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from launching missiles," adding that they would cooperate with allies the United States, South Korea, and other countries.

South Korea, along with Japan, has urged North Korea to cancel its satellite launch plan. A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement calling on North Korea to withdraw its missile launch plans: "If North Korea proceeds, it will pay a price and suffer losses."

The ministry added that Kim Gunn, South Korea's special envoy for peace and security issues on the peninsula, held a three-way phone call with his counterparts from Japan and the United States.

In April 2018, Japan sent a destroyer carrying SM-3 interceptor missiles capable of striking targets in space to the East China Sea, and dispatched ground-based PAC-3 missiles to the Okinawa Islands, designed to strike targets closer to the ground.

"The government recognizes that there is a possibility the satellite could pass over our country's territory," Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary, said at a regular press briefing after North Korea informed the Japanese coast guard of its plan.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters)

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